Safety device for fluid-actuated pistons.



WALTER B. KOLIJAR, O15 LANSING, MJIIHIGrAN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR FLUID-ACTUATED PISTONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

Application filed. June 17, 1912. Serial No. 704,013.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, WALTER B. KoLLAR, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Lansing, in the county of Ingham and State oflilichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SafetyDevices for Fluid-Actuated Pistons; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention refers to safety appliances for fluid actuated pistons, itsobject being to provide simple, effective and positive means forpreventing overthrow of such fluid actuating pistons whereby the headsof cylinders containing the same are prevented from being knocked due tooverthrow caused by the piston being disconnected from its rod either bybreakage or withdrawal therefrom.

My present invention is particularly degm signed with reference toimproving and simplifying apparatus of the type such as patented by meFebruary 21, 1911, No. 98 1935, for improvements in safety devices forsteam engines.

The specific object of my invention is to provide an independentvalve-controlled fluid inlet which is adapted to operate in conjunctionwith a tappet member whereby the independent fluid force is admitted toso the cylinder head, incidental to shift of the engine valve, causedthrough overthrow of the piston.

With the above and other minor objects in view the invention consists inwhat is as herein described with reference to the accompanyingillustration and subsequently claimed.

The drawing represents a side elevation of an engine cylinder and valvegear with parts 1' broken away and parts in section to better show thestructural features, said engine cylinder being shown equipped with asafety appliance embodying the features of my in vention.

Referring by characters to the drawing 1 represents the base of a steamcylinder 2, which cylinder is closed at one end by a head 3 and providedat its opposite end with a stuffing-box 1 for the reception of a pis toton-rod 5 that carries a piston 6 adapted to reciprocate within thecylinder. The bed 1 is also provided with a steam-chest 7 thatcommunicates with inlet and exhaust chambers 8, 9, respectively. Thecylinder has at steam channels 10 and 11 that communicate respectivelywith the upper and lower ends of said cylinder and also with thesteamchest 7 in the usual manner, whereby steam is admitted uponopposite sides of the piston. A hollow valve-shell 12 is fitted withinthe steam-chest for controlling the several ports that communicatetherewith. The port 8 is provided with a steam-supply pipe 8 and theexhaust port 9 carries a suitable pipe connection 9. The valve-shellcarries a stem 13 that extends through a stufiingboX in the head of thesteam-chest, which stem is connected by a link 16 to a pin 14, the pinbeing carried by a rocker 15. The opposite end of the rocker 15 hasattached thereto a valve-rod 17 through which valverod the enginevalve-gear is manually controlled. The valve mechanism just describedconstitutes the ordinary valve-gear and forms no part of my invention,it being also understood that the steam cylinder and its channels arealso of standard type.

One form of the safety appliance constituting my invention, as shown inthe accompanying illustration, consists of a member or tappet 18 thatpasses through a valvehousing 19, which housing is secured to the head 3and communicates with the cylinder, the said tappet in this instanceconstituting a stem for a valve 20, which valve is adapted to seatwithin the valve-housing 19, whereby communication between the upper endof the cylinder and valve-housing is controlled. Said valve-housing andvalve-1nember constitute an auxiliary valve mechanism that controls anindependent steam supply, which supply 1s admitted to the housingthrough a pipe connection 21, that, in this instance, is

connected to the feed pipe 8 and C01111Dl1111- cates with the auxiliaryvalve-housing. The upper end of the valve-stem or tappet 18 is slightlynotched for engagement with a lever 22, which lever in this instance, isshown fulcrumed to the cylinder through a link 23. The opposite end ofthe lever 22 has connected thereto a sectional rod 25, the sections ofwhich are in turnbuckle connection where by the rod may be adjusted asto length. The rod constitutes a connecting link between the safetymechanism and valve-gear, the lower end of said rod being provided witha slotted head 27 through which slot the pin 14 of the rocker extends.The length of the slot in the head 27 is sufficient to per mit freemovement of the valve-gear in either direction under the ordinarycontrol. While I have mentioned the fact that this valve-gear undercertain conditions may be manually controlled it should be understoodthat the same under certain conditions may be automatically shifted, themanual control 5 being utilized when the apparatus is applied to ahammer or analogous tool, it being also understood that said inventionmay be as readily applied to saw-mill carriages or like mechanismswherein the application of power through a piston and cylinder isrequired. The invention in its primary sense contemplates means inconnectlon with the valve-gear whereby said valve-gear is shifted toreverse the direction of steam sup ply incidental to abnormal oroverthrow movement of the piston due to any cause. In order to hold thelever 22 in a set position said lever is provided with a dog 28, whichdo is adapted to engage any one of a series of teeth 29 that are carriedby a post 80, the post being extended upwardly from the engine head 3.

In the operation of my invention as shown in the drawing the piston isat the extreme lower end of its working stroke the slide-valve havingjust been reversed. Steam is now admitted under the piston throughchannel 11 and is exhausted through channel 10. The piston 6 willconsequently now be forced upward upon its idle stroke to the positionindicated in dotted lines under normal conditions. Should breakage occurof the piston rod or the same become loose from its connections throughany cause the piston would have a further upward movement, causingengagement of the valve stem or tappet 18. This thrust upon the valvestem will cause the lever 22 to lift, which lever movement through itslink connections with the valve-gear will impart movement to thevalve-shell whereby the latter will be lifted to thus reverse the steamsuipply whereby steam will be exhausted through channel 11 from theunder side of the piston and admitted through channel to the upper sideof said piston. Thus further upward movement of the piston isinstantaneously cushioned. Incidental to the upward movement of thevalve-stem it will be apparent that valve 20 will be lifted from itsseat whereby an auxiliary supply of steam will be admitted to the headend of the cylinder, which, in conjunction with the supply of steamthrough channel 10 will cause said piston to be instantly returned tothe position shown in full lines in the drawing.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that when the shiftof the engine valve takes place, were it not for the auxiliary steamsupply being admitted directly to the head end of the steam cylinder,the said valve might in some instances only partially complete its fullshift movement, 65 in which instance the auxiliary supply of live steamadmitted to said head end of the cylinder would co-act with thesteam-supply admitted through channel 10, to thus positively check andreturn the piston upon its working stroke. It will also be observed thatafter the safety appliance has been lifted to shift the valve, that saidvalve will be positively held in its shifted position due to engagementof the lever-dog with one of the series of teeth 2-9 carried by the post30, said device being thus securely held until manually reset by theoperator. It will also be apparent that when the auxiliary valve 20 isin its normal position resting upon the valve-seat that the supply ofhigh pressure steam thereto will securely hold the valve in thisposition, it being only unseated by a severe blow imparted to the stemby the pis ton through overthrow of the same. This seating of theauxiliary valve would result, even though the pressure of steam wereequal, in both directions, owing to the differential area of the valvefaces.

I claim:

1. In an engine having a cylinder, a head therefor, a piston mounted inthe cylinder, a piston-rod carried by the piston, steam channelsconnecting the opposite ends of the cylinder, a controlling valve forthe steam channels, and valve-gear for the controlling valve; thecombination of a,by-pass in com munication with the cylinder head, anauxiliary valve therefor, means in connection with the auxiliary valvefor engagement with the piston incidental to abnormal movement of thelatter, and means connecting the auxiliary valve and engine valvegearwhereby said valves are simultaneously opened by engagement of thepiston with said auxiliary valve mechanism to admit separate volumes ofsteam over the aforesaid piston.

2. In an engine having a cylinder, a head therefor, a piston mounted inthe cylinder, a piston-rod carried by the piston, steam channelsconnecting the opposite ends of the cylinder, a controlling valve forthe steam channels, and valve-gear for the controlling valve; thecombination of a by-pass in communication with .the cylinder head, anauxiliary valve therefor, means depending from the auxiliary valve forengagement of the piston incidental to abnormal movement of the latter,and a lever in connection with the auxiliary valve and engine valve-gearwhereby said valves are simultaneously opened incidental to overthrow ofthe piston to admit separate volumes of steam over said piston.

3. In an engine having a cylinder, a head therefor, a piston mounted inthe cylinder, a piston-rod carried by the piston, steam channelsconnecting the opposite ends of the cylinder, a controlling valve forthe steam channels, and a valve-gear for the controlling valve; thecombination of a bypass in communication with one of the steam channelsand cylinder, an auxiliary valve mounted in the by-pass for controllingthe admission of steam to said cylinder, means in connection with theauxiliary valve for engagement with the piston incidental to abnormalmovement of the latter, and means in connection with said auxiliaryvalve and the aforesaid engine valve-gear, whereby said valves arepositively opened simultaneously by engagement of the piston with theauxiliary valve mechanism to simultaneously admit steam from the by-passand one of the steam channels to the cylinder.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand atLansing in the county of Ingham and State of Michigan in the presence oftwo witnesses.

\VALTER l3. KOLLAR.

Witnesses FRANK E. DAVIS, F. L. SoHnAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

